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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27335125">With one whisper, you draw me into the dark of night</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallenangel_Winchester/pseuds/Fallenangel_Winchester'>Fallenangel_Winchester</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Feels, Denial of Feelings, Everyone Needs A Hug, Feelings Realization, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Illusions, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Spooky, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Will O the Wisp</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:42:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,482</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27335125</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallenangel_Winchester/pseuds/Fallenangel_Winchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Will o' the wisp - (idiomatic)  a delusionary or otherwise unachievable goal that one feels compelled to pursue </p><p> </p><p>It's takes Tony and Stephen more than a couple of illusions to stop denying their feelings for each other.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tony Stark/Stephen Strange</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>With one whisper, you draw me into the dark of night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn't love. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was something else, something that pulled him towards the other man like a moth to a flame and he knew he would end up burned so he resisted. He knew he had a problem with attaching to people too fast, with trusting them too much and giving everything he could give, yet he kept doing it. His heart had a mind of his own and while his mind screamed warnings all the time, sometimes it wasn't enough. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gosh, he could blame it on his neverending curiosity, on the fact that they saved the world together, that the other man gave up the time stone to save him although the last part was because he knew something nobody else did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It still wasn't enough to explain the pull that made him turn his attention towards him whenever he was around, to take a closer look at his reactions and words and wonder why he was affected the way he was.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Do you feel the same pull as me ?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He wanted to ask, the words burning at the tip of his tongue, the anger bubbling inside of him at the thought that something went wrong, that he went and developed feelings for a stranger. Pun intended.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whenever complicated feelings took over him, he focused on his projects, threw himself into work until there was nothing on his mind except for solving problems and improving his tech. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Side effect: his arm always hurt after so much work, constantly reminding him that it was never going to be the same</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>If people thought that Tony Stark was stubborn, they had no idea how much focus and attention he could put into his actions if he decided. And he decided to break whatever pull he felt towards Dr. Strange by doing everything he could to ignore it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had Pepper, although their relationship was once again on shaky ground, what was it with world crises that managed to ruin everything they had built... </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was as if they had been cursed to never be happy together, at least not as a couple, as friends they worked more than well, Pepper was the only constant in his life, a part he couldn't live without, so he decided to hold onto it.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>He glared at Wong until he walked out of the room, not before giving him a look that clearly said that the conversation wasn't over and that he should expect a continuation at any time. Sooner than later was Strange's prediction and as always he was right, but now he had enough time to patch himself up and rest for a bit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If anyone asked why Dr. Strange joined the avengers on one of their weekly fights against the current wannabe villain, he would get no answer and that wasn't because he didn't deemed it important to share it, it was because he didn't know the reason himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Director Fury wasn't thrilled by the lack of clear answers to his questions, but Strange had enough of his old arrogance left to not give a damn about him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sorcerer supreme wasn't part of the avengers, therefore he didn't owe anyone an explanation and he made sure to remind everyone of that fact much to Stark's amusement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And there lay the problem, wrapped up in a quite attractive package. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The one and only Tony Stark.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The one who saved the world from the mad titan and lived, who succeeded in redeeming himself when the odds were against him and surprised everyone with his selflessness.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don't judge a book by its cover</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony Stark was the epitome of those words, people either hated or loved him, too blind to see that he was so much more that he showed, easily fooled by his words and actions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But not Strange, he both loved and hated him at least part of him did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It seemed that seeing the same man fight and sacrifice himself over and over not giving up on the world until he couldn't fight no more had an unexpected effect on him. Despite his many flaws and issues, Strange's heart succeeded in something his mind believed wasn't possible. He fell in love or at least came as close to falling in love with the other man. He tried reasoning with his feelings, allowing conflicting emotions to crash down on him until he almost drowned, but all the logic, all the rational thinking didn't help him. It was all pointless because he tended to gravitate towards Tony, the way a sunflower always turned to face the sun, Tony became not the sun, but the moon that kept him company in the darkest moments of his life. His phantom presence appeared in the middle of nightmares chasing the chill away, whenever he was around he never failed to cheer him up with his silly nicknames and expressions, the curiosity in his eyes shining through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On some days when the pain in his hands reminded him of the person he was and he struggled to properly breathe, he caught himself daydreaming of Tony. The way he talked with his hands, the warmth in his eyes whenever he looked at him, the way he pretended not to be worried about anyone else, but letting out a relieved sigh now and then. He complained and whined, yet he never failed to take responsibility for his actions or look out for each one of the avengers, both the old and the new ones. Sometimes he would imagine those warm hands gently holding his own, soothing his pain as he hummed something under his breath as a way to comfort him, cracking jokes and hugging him like he was something precious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was embarrassing, the way his mind memorized every single little thing about Tony, every crack in his well-crafted mask, the big heart underneath and every hidden message in his seemingly unimportant prattle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whenever Wong confronted him about that because he didn't need to read minds to read Stephen apparently, he would defend himself the same way.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It's not the way it looks. It's nothing, doesn't affect me at all, don't worry I won't do anything...</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Lies, there were all lies, but after repeating them countless times, he could catch himself believing them, even if that was always temporary. He could always see the blurred line between the lie and the truth, his heart wasn't so easily fooled and he was both impressed and annoyed by that fact.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The heart wants what it wants. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Still he had everything under control, he knew he should stay away and he did that as much as possible, only stepping in whenever he was needed and it seemed to kinda work. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was enough, it had to be enough. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>To say that Tony was in a bad mood was an understatement, his cyborg hand, ‘winter soldier's better looking twin’ as he liked to call it just so he could pull out a smile from Barnes was hurting him because he overworked it or something similar. Pepper was angry at him again, granted he knew that she had the right to break up with him, but his wounded ego and broken heart didn't stop him from acting like an ass which was the translation of ‘Tony got himself into trouble again’.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On top of everything the avengers were dealing with a magic user and Maximoff wasn't fast enough to stop the guy from sending five of the avengers down the rabbit hole, but with the extra addition of being separated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony was one of them of course, where the party was there was Tony, it was only natural, he hoped that the spiderling was alright. He knew that Rhodey and the rest of the others could hold their own, he simply wasn't sure which ones of the avengers got the same treatment as him. Barnes and Romanoff were a solid option, he prayed that Bruce didn't end up mind controlled or something because that didn't end well the last time and despite his history with Rogers he was against seeing him suffer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The same went with the rest of them, although Barnes was by far his favorite once they'd dealt with the whole 'I killed your parents while being brainwashed' he turned out to be quite nice and Tony would hate to see a setback in his ongoing recovery because of some unhinged magician.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Since it was kinda close to Halloween, Tony ended up in the entrance of a spooky, dark forest because his luck was cool like that and had to push aside every distracting thought out of his head, easier said than done, but he was always good at multitasking, because there was no way that there was not a creepy monster at the end of the road. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His mind supplied him with the fact that it might all be an illusion, but it did him no good since it felt and looked as real as possible, either way it wasn't as if he would be able to tell the difference no matter how brilliant he was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Alright then, follow the yellow...in this case the nonexistent tiny dark road to a darker place, better turn my flashlight on, Fri." he said and when he got no reply he added,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I hate magic". </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Stephen arrived only to find out that Maximoff took care of the magician and that everyone was more or less alright, everyone except for Tony who appeared to be sent somewhere. It took him less time than he thought to locate Tony and to open a portal. The moment he stepped through he realized that the genius got himself into a bigger trouble if that was even possible. When he finally took in his surroundings and gave his senses time to adjust, he sensed magic, two kinds of it, one was natural the other wasn't. Not too far ahead he could spot tiny lights floating in the air, trying to guide, to pull a lost traveler into their mischievous play, enchanting and mesmerizing, but he wasn't worried they had no effect over him. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Will o' the wisp - a magical phenomenon</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>They, whatever they were, there were no records of them being harmful only mischievous while they guided you to stray from your path and into danger, Stephen doubted that Tony would be in harm's way. He'd probably ignore them too busy trying to find a way out while cursing magic for being unpredictable and illogical. There was something off about the forest, there were unnatural shadows, the feeling of unwelcomed magic that simply made itself home. Someone else's magic was hanging over the forest like a heavy blanket, waiting to trap someone and that someone was Tony. Stephen could bet that the magician had something to do with it and he was certain that the forest got turned into a trap. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Dammit!" he exclaimed when he caught a trace of wayward magic, Tony was in trouble and no matter how much he tried to avoid him, he couldn't let something bad happen to him even if that was only a bunch of illusions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Carefully he started walking towards the lights, knowing that once they recognized his magic they might feel more inclined to assist him.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Bored and annoyed was never a good combination when it came to Tony, so when he realized that there was nothing around him except for creepy forest trees he decided he didn't need the whole suit, so he called the nanities back into their holder leaving only his gauntlets on for protection. Surprisingly there was enough light for him to somewhat see what he was stepping on even though everything felt a little bit hazy. He had no idea where the crazy magician had sent him and he didn't care as long as he found the way out and left the forest. It was like being trapped into a horror movie, one where witches ate children and flew on broomsticks, it was ridiculous and unsettling at the same time.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The path was a bit crooked, yet it caused him no problem except for the fallen branches that snapped whenever his footsteps grew heavier. Just as he was about to start humming some Halloween tune to get rid of his boredom, tiny lights floated in his line of vision like fireflies dancing around the trees, illuminating the shadows and he had to admit it was a beautiful sight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The illusion that they were fireflies faded the moment they noticed him and wasn't that a strange thought, but it was true.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They took a notice of him and in no time he got surrounded by lots of twinkling, floating, unreal, tiny balls of light that shone like gold, afraid that he might anger them he stood still and let them roam. He was too busy trying to figure out what they were and whether he should start running that he didn't realize that he had started walking. They were so beautiful and it felt as if they wanted him to follow them, so he did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With each step he took, he went further into the forest, deeper into the darkness where he could no longer see the ground he was walking on, but it didn't matter because they were radiating warmth and comfort not unlike someone else. His mind failed to recall the reason why they gave him that impression and he was tempted to grab one of them just to keep that warmth to himself when he heard rustling of leaves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a silhouette hiding behind the trees and he was about to confront it, but then it stepped forward and Tony's breath caught in his throat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Strange?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tony...there you are, I was looking for you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What ? How did you know ?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm a sorcerer, remember? Come along, this forest is dangerous, we need to get out of here as soon as possible."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What do you mean ? What happened to the others ?" and when he turned his head left and right he saw how the small lights dispersed amongst the trees, they were no longer surrounding him. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Are they afraid ?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"Those little things are quite dangerous, they were guiding you to a small pond to drown you, luckily I came on time to get you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Really ?" but it seemed that his brain was slowly clearing up, so whatever Strange was talking about must have been true. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes." and he stretched out his arm to offer him his hand to take and Tony's mind short circuited when their hands touched. They never touched, not even a friendly pat on the shoulder although Tony indulged himself into a few when he realized that Stephen didn't pull back, yet he never initiated any friendly touches.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His hands were stronger and warmer than he expected them to be ,but knowing that they were in fact quite sensitive due to his former injuries Tony was careful when holding them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We're not far from the exit, just a few more steps. " he was talking and Tony couldn't stop staring at his face, at the open affection on his face, the worry in his eyes and how his lips formed each one of the words he said, soft and gentle like butterfly's wings.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe he cares the way I do, maybe we could… </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He stopped his thought process the second it went towards that direction, he had decided for once not to act on his feelings, he needed time to let them go, but the more he was in Stephen's presence the weaker his resolve got. The forest wasn't helping him as well, with the way the fairy lights gave Stephen's face a breathtaking glow, it was unfair how unreal he felt, so Tony simply reacted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slowly reached with his better hand and oh so gently caressed Stephen's face, heart beating wildly in his chest when the other man closed his eyes and leaned into the touch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Stephen...you're so...so.." </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>expressive, beautiful, enchanting, mesmerizing, unreal...</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>There was so much he could say, but couldn't find the right words to use, what if he scared him away with the intensity of his feelings. To his bewilderment Stephen made the choice for him, he guided him backwards until he felt what must have been a tree pressing into his back before he bent forward, their lips barely an inch apart, their gazes locked together and Tony forgot where he was, what was going on, he even forgot his own name. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The only thing he was aware of was Stephen's eyes, the feel of his warm breath against his lips and the thought that he needed to kiss him more than he needed air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just before their lips touched, he vaguely felt the ground slipping beneath his feet as he fell backwards onto the ground only to have vines wrapping themself around his body effectively trapping him in place. When he lifted his gaze to look at Stephen he saw no one, no one was there, he was alone, he closed his eyes to stop any tears from falling and focused his attention on freeing himself. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>His assumptions were correct, when the will o' the wisp figured out that he wasn't falling under their charm and that he meant no harm to them, they playfully fluttered around him giving out the impression of an excited puppy. Stephen's lips twitched into a smile at the sight for a moment forgetting where he was and what he had to do, before the cloak pushed him forward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Please will you show me the way ?" he asked, having learned from his experiences that you may never know where you're going to end up, so it'd be better to be polite. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It seemed as if they only waited for him to ask, they rushed forward with such eagerness that turned warning bells inside of Stephen's mind. Confident that he could deal with whatever trap laid ahead of him, he followed them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unsurprisingly he noticed traces of magic all over the place and after a tricky path where he almost fell into a small hole, he began to sense the edges of an illusion. That wasn't a comforting thought since he couldn't tell the illusions apart not until he faced at least one of them and so far there were none.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Each one of his senses were on edge, his magic coiled tightly around him waiting for the order to attack and protect, even the cloak was unusually still. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sensation lasted no more than a few minutes and faded away as abruptly as it came. Not having the time to analyze the weird feeling he rushed forward and froze on the spot when he heard a scream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Quickly he ran to find the source of it and once again got shocked at the sight in front of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony was kneeling on the ground, hand firmly pressed over his heart as he was bleeding out, the moment he saw him, he started pleading,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Please make it stop, help me, it hurts so much." Stephen was about to rush forward to help him when the cloak pulled him back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What are you do-?" he started, but then he caught sight of Tony or to be more precise there was no reflection of Tony on the small puddle of water in front of him and his eyes held a yellow glow.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That's not him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>A wave of his hand and the illusion dispersed in a shower of sparks, leaving him breathless for a moment before anger took over his worry and with a renewed fervor he continued on his way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whenever he got stuck along the path, different illusions tried attacking and scaring him away, from hurt Tony, to unimaginable monsters only to get destroyed by his magic as he slowly got angrier with each illusion that featured Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The one that took him the longest to banish was the one where Tony wasn't even remotely hurt, but the one where he was casually leaning against a tree, his posture relaxed, soft smile on his face, a true picture of domesticity. It was more dangerous than the scary ones, because it showed him something unattainable, something he tried not to think about and something his heart longed for.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry, but this is not real and you'll never say those words." was his reply to Tony's inviting words as he once again tore apart the illusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The will o' the wisp shone brighter with each dispelled illusions, proving to him that they were on the same side, he only hoped that they would guide him to Tony.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>He was tired and frustrated up to the point of considering blasting through the trees in a desperate attempt to leave the cursed forest he was trapped in. Now that he knew what they were, illusions, he no longer fell under their spell, still it didn't mean that they had no effect on him. Each one of them opened a wound he didn't want to deal with, not to mention how tempting they were, unfairly realistic that he had to use every part of his rationality to hold himself back. He still ended up with more bruises than he could count and more than a few embarrassing words that he never expected to say. Thankfully there was no one around to witness his moments of longing and the way he slowly came to the realization that the feelings he had weren't going anywhere anytime soon. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tiny lights never left his side, seemingly content with following him which crazily enough made him feel safer, he even tried paying attention to them quickly coming to the conclusion that they weren't guiding him towards darkness anymore, in fact they were showing him the way out. This time luck wasn't on his side because the moment he passed underneath a huge arc made of tree crowns he saw him. The mad titan was standing in front of him and despite Tony's mind that screamed at him, repeating over and over that it wasn't real, he couldn't stop his instincts from taking over as he prepared to fight him once again. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>When the last traces of the illusion completely faded away, he could feel the air clearing up as the forest's own natural magic got to work on repairing the damage and healing itself, he knew that he had almost reached his destination. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But where is Tony ?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn't have to walk far to find him and when he did, his heart broke at the sight in front of him. Tony was cradling his right hand, the one he lost during the last battle against the titan, close to his chest, eyes staring at the distance yet not seeing anything. Stephen doubted that he had been seen, slowly he kneeled down in front of him and spoke,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>" Do you hear me ? Tony...it's me, Stephen. Tony ? Please look at me...it's over Tony, he's gone, you defeated him." he kept talking, barely resisting the urge to touch him afraid that he might startle him. After what felt like forever, Tony's glazed over eyes started focusing until his gaze fell on Stephen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Strange ? Stephen...are you really here or is this another trick ? I'm so sorry I couldn't save you." he was mumbling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tony...Tony..." when he failed to catch his attention he placed one of his hands on Tony's shoulder and added,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Look at me." the moment he saw that he had his attention, he continued speaking slowly and steadily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You saved me Tony, me and the whole world, we wouldn't, I wouldn't be here without you. I need you to let me lift the illusion from your mind...please will you let me ?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It seemed that his words reached Tony's muddled mind because the next thing he did was taking Stephen's hand off his shoulder. For a second Stephen got scared that Tony would push him away, but he surprised him with his reaction. Instead of letting his hand go, Tony gently cradled it in his hands before he lifted it to press his cheek on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I trust you." was his answer and Stephen's relief was so strong that it made him dizzy as he focused all of his attention on helping Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The moment it was over and Tony's mind was freed from any influences, he gave him a small smile before he fainted in front of him, but not before he whispered,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thanks love."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was nothing Stephen could do except from bringing them both home and making sure that Tony was alright before fleeing to the sanctum.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony woke up slowly, as if waking up from a deep and restful sleep, unfortunately the peacefulness didn't last. The moment his mind started replaying the events from the previous day, every trace of sleepiness faded away only to get replaced by too many conflicting emotions. Embarrassment was the first thing he felt, frustration with his foolish heart that it only needed a stupid illusion for it to reveal his deepest feelings and anger at himself from not being able to stop himself from longing. He knew he should face his feelings and do something about them before they became too much to handle, but he didn't know how.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>How do you go to someone and tell them that their presence was both welcomed and unwanted ? That you had noticed things they tried to hide and that you wanted to help and be there for them, but you were too afraid of rejection or from realizing that your feelings were nothing, but the product of trauma. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>For days afterwards Tony tried to do the impossible, tried to put a reason to his feelings, to convince himself that his feelings were some weird coping mechanism and that he could simply break it, by not indulging in it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was wrong. With each flashback of the illusions, with every time he fought side by side with Stephen he slowly came to the realization that there was no way back, no way for him to drown those feelings and even though he felt like giving in and admitting the whole thing, he held himself back.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Stephen's feelings towards Tony grew stronger each time they were around each other, from the battles they fought together to the rare meetings when Tony needed his expertise on something magic related. He caught himself shuffling through memories from all those possible futures he saw and found each one of them lacking something. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They weren't real.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His mind was telling him the truth, yet his heart refused to believe it, helplessly charmed by everything that was Tony.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He mostly had his emotions under control, achieved by lots of hours of mediation, yet sometimes when Tony was around he caught himself staring, feeling his control slowly slipping through his fingers wondering why it was so hard to resist.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You make it look so easy." he mumbled while trying to keep his eyes on Tony, not on the way they refused to stay open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's harder than it looks like."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't doubt, but you're a genius after all." and he felt a hand trying to keep him awake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey...hey...stay with me. No falling asleep, remember, we'll freeze to death otherwise."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm not...sleeping." he was heavily leaning onto Tony's side, "you're just comfy. "</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And...you're adorable, but I can't let you freeze...come on." and he got pulled into Tony's arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tony...what are you..." he started.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Shhh, just let me help you, the avengers will arrive in about a half an hour, just stay with me." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't think I could leave even if I wanted to." he whispered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Want to run away from me, Strange ?" it was a joke, but somehow his brain failed to tell him that, so he simply said,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Can't, you're everywhere, you never leave me alone." he felt the arms holding him loosening their grip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Try to avoid you, but I can't. Don't really want to...have to. You're out of my reach...always..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Stephen..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's not easy to resist you..." he added, hiding his face in the warmth of Tony's chest unaware of the effect of his words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You think it's easy for me ? You have no idea...how much I..." the soft confession reached his ears and suddenly he forgot about everything, he got a burst of energy strong enough so he could pull back to meet Tony's gaze. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tell me...is there a chance ? Or you're trying to let me down-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No...no, I have to fight with myself to stop thinking about you...gosh I'm...captivated by you...sometimes I think I've imagined all those tiny moments between us..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You haven't..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their confessions got interrupted by the sound of footsteps and the voices of the avengers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We'll continue once we are both feeling better...alright ?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes..." Stephen replied only to tighten his arms around Tony the moment the other man started letting go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't...stay with me..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll be there when you wake up." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Promise ?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Promise." and he finally allowed himself to relax as his exhaustion took over.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony promised to be there when Stephen woke up, but now he was nervous, still not hundred percent certain that he hadn't dreamed up the whole thing. Stephen was sleeping in his room in the Sanctum, looking peaceful that Tony wanted to memorize his face in case he got kicked out. He had to admit that he preferred him awake, unable to control his restlessness, he took one of Stephen's hands in his own and prepared to wait.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Much to his surprise he nodded off and woke up at the feel of fingers gently running through his hair. When he lifted his head to see what's going on, he was greeted by Stephen's face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You stayed." the amazement in his voice was more than obvious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I did promise didn't I ? " he replied, his nervousness slowly fading away at the sight of Stephen's smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You did." when he took a better look at Tony his smile turned into a worried frown before he continued running his fingers over Tony's hair, carefully smoothing it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You look tired, you should get some rest."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I will, but not before I get my answer." at the questioning look on Stephen's face he explained,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Will you give us a chance ? I've been thinking and I'm willing to try as long as you want...I mean I already like you more than enough and I know I can be handful just ask around...and I don't want to pressure you or something, but there's no point at resisting this thing between us..." and he was rambling once again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tony..." and when he got his attention he pulled his hand to press a gentle kiss on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm tired of fighting this as well and I really like you too if that wasn't obvious already, so yes, let's try." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a sudden rush of joy, Tony leaned forward and gave him a short and sweet kiss on the cheek.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Alright, great...should I ? I should let you rest. " he was a bit flustered, but he didn't give a damn at the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You could join me...you look like you need a good night's sleep." came from Stephen, an unexpected offer that succeeded in making him blush. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, aren't we bold my dear doctor." he teased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You know what I meant, but if you feel uncomfortable...Tony I don't want to make you uncomfortable...just to offer comfort." was his soft reply.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know. We'll have all the time in the world to talk about the serious stuff, now...now I just wanna relax and rest, so I'm gonna go and prepare myself for sleep and I'll be back in an hour. Is that alright ?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stephen nodded in agreement and Tony rushed forward to steal another kiss before he left the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he returned back, he found Stephen asleep, so he sat on the bed and before he had time to try and wake him up, Stephen pulled him to lay down next to him and gave him just enough room so he could make himself comfortable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you Tony." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If I knew that I was wanted, I would have said something sooner, now, I was promised cuddles, so come here." and before he could change his mind he opened his arms to invite Stephen to settle himself into his embrace. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Much to his delight his invitation was eagerly accepted and despite the way his heart skipped a beat at having Stephen close, he hugged him with as much care as possible and began to feel his body letting go of any tension.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Goodnight Stephen."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Goodnight Tony." he got a kiss on his cheek before he fell asleep, drunk on love with a heart full of hope for the future.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The title is from the song : will o' the wisp by Jillian Aversa</p><p> </p><p>Writer's block doesn't give me a break, yet I tried to write something Halloween-ish because I love that kind of stories sadly this was the only story I managed to write at October despite having many, many prompts. </p><p>Either way,  hope that you enjoyed this attempt at writing something a bit spooky. </p><p>Thanks for reading.<br/>As always comments are always welcomed.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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